DEMO diary: A bad sleep and fresh coffee

PALM Desert, Calif. — Bruce Henry slept like a baby last night. But LiquidPlanner Chief Executive Charles Seybold tossed and turned for much of the night.

DEMO Diary
A series of behind-the-scenes reports on Bellevue’s LiquidPlanner, tracking the ups and downs of a startup as it debuts at the high-pressure DEMO conference. Click here for past reports.

“I couldn’t turn my brain off,” said Seybold. “I was doing the demo all night. It was like Groundhog Day.”

In less than an hour is the moment of truth when LiquidPlanner launches its online project management tool to the more than 600 attendees at DEMO.

Everything is set. After the rough sleep last night, it was an early start to the day. Seybold got up at 5:45 a.m. and immediately called Henry. After making an important pit stop at Starbucks, they checked into the conference hall at 7 a.m. to reset their computer.

By 7:30 a.m. they were standing in the sun taking photos of the palm trees outside the conference center. Once again, more waiting.

“I am debating whether I want more coffee, but that could go the wrong way,” said Seybold.

Shortly after, Seybold and Henry met up with the rest of the team — the women adorned in white LiquidPlanner athletic jackets and the men in matching sky blue jackets. That’s the booth wear for the day.

“I think I am going to get more food. It is going to be a long day,” said director of marketing Liz Pearce.

Another good sign, an entrepreneurial coach who helps companies with product demonstrations approached the team this morning complementing them on their product and pitch.

“The demo really shined,” said Nathan Gold, who had watched the rehearsal yesterday.